How Fiber Increases Life Expectancy

As per latest research which collated information from previous 17 researches it was found that those who consume more amount of dietary fiber are less likely to die of common causes of death now a days which include stroke, diabetes and heart disease apart from several types of cancers.

Research which was done in Shangai Institute of Cancer in China mentions that people should be encouraged to take more fiber to reduce chances of premature deaths. This was reported by Yang Yang in American Journal of Epidemiology.

This research tracked 982,411 men and women from Europe and America and had a record of 67000 deaths. Yang’s team divided the people in five groups based on amount of fiber consumed. They found that the top group which consumed the most fiber had the lowest death rate and people were least likely to die of the causes mentioned above. In fact they had 16% less death rate as compared to the bottom group.

They also found that increase the fiber intake by 10% lowered the risk of death due to these causes by 10%. This can be easily achieved by taking two serving of fruits or taking some more Salad or adding some Chia or sesame seeds in your diet..

Many other researches in the past have also mentioned results on similar lines. Usually fiber intake in United States and other developed countries is lower than developing countries since people here have more access to processed food which can be conventionally consumed.

One of the rule of thumb as per US Department of Agriculture is to consume 14 grams of fiber per 1000 calories of food intake. Which means for men it is close to 40 grams of fiber and for women it is little less than 30 grams of fiber per day.

High fiber foods make you feel full sooner which reduces your urge to eat more. You also end up eating lesser amount of unhealthy foods which reduces your risk of the above mentioned diseases.

However you should not take the results of the study to be hundred percent accurate since there may be many other factors which can determine the longevity of a person. However there are definitely evidence that fiber does help you in remaining healthy.

Many nutritionists suggest looking at the food labels of the products we buy to see the amount of fiber present. As per the common suggestion it is recommended to have at least 3 grams of fiber per serving of the food. Also they suggest that the amount of fiber should be increased gradually if you are used to low fiber diet since body needs time to adjust to increase in fiber.